Pancreatic islet-like three-dimensional aggregates derived from human embryonic stem cells ameliorate hyperglycemia in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice

Joong Hyun Shim, Jong Hyun Kim, Jiyou Han, Su Yeon An, Yu Jin Jang, Jeongsang Son, Dong Hun Woo, Suel Kee Kim, Jong Hoon Kim

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    24 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    We previously reported the in vitro differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) into pancreatic endoderm. Here we demonstrate that islet-like three-dimensional (3D) aggregates can be derived from the pancreatic endoderm by optimizing our previous protocol. Sequential treatment with Wnt3a, activin A, and noggin induced a transient upregulation of T and MixL1, followed by increased expression of endodermal genes, including FOXA2, SOX17, and CXCR4. Subsequent treatment with retinoic acid highly upregulated PDX1 expression. We also show that inhibition of sonic hedgehog signaling by bFGF/activin bB and cotreatment with VEGF and FGF7 produced many 3D cellular clusters that express both SOX17 and PDX1. We found for the first time that proteoglycans and vimentin+ mesenchymal cells were mainly localized in hESC-derived PDX1+ clusters. Importantly, treatment with chlorate, an inhibitor of proteoglycan sulfation, together with inhibition of Notch signaling significantly increased the expression of Neurog3 and NeuroD1, promoting a transition from PDX1+ progenitor cells toward mature pancreatic endocrine cells. Purified dithizone+ 3D aggregates generated by our refined protocol produced pancreatic hormones and released insulin in response to both glucose and pharmacological drugs in vitro. Furthermore, the islet-like 3D aggregates decreased blood glucose levels and continued to exhibit pancreatic features after transplantation into diabetic mice. Generation of islet-like 3D cell aggregates from human pluripotent stem cells may overcome the shortage of cadaveric donor islets for future cases of clinical islet transplantation.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)2155-2168
    Number of pages14
    JournalCell Transplantation
    Volume24
    Issue number10
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2015 Oct 13

    Bibliographical note

    Publisher Copyright:
    © 2015 Cognizant Comm. Corp.

    Keywords

    • B-Cells
    • Diabetes mellitus
    • Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs)
    • Pancreatic islet
    • Sodium chlorate

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Transplantation
    • Biomedical Engineering
    • Cell Biology

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